Who Approves Treaties and Presidential Appointments?

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Quick Answer

The Senate approves both treaties and presidential appointments to the federal courts and other federal positions. The Senate is also responsible for serving as the jury in impeachment trials and selecting the vice president when the electoral college does not offer up a clear winner.

The United States government's legislative branch is known as the U.S. Congress. It has an upper house, which is the U.S. Senate and a lower house, which is the House of Representatives. The primary responsibilities of the legislative branch are to pass legislation, regulate trade and money, impeach federal officials, declare war and override presidential vetoes with two-thirds vote in each house.

Senators are elected by popular vote to the Senate and serve unlimited six-year terms. Senators have several requirements in order to be eligible for election, which include having spent nine years as a citizen of the United States, being a resident of the state in which they are trying to get elected and they must be over the age of thirty. Each state has two U.S. senators.

Most of the clauses related to the Senate in the U.S. Constitution can be found in Article I, although Article II Section 2 provides the Senate with the right to give advice and consent to the current president on nominations and treaties.